-498 BRITISH HUSBANDRY. [Ch. XXXIX. 



calion of the disease*. It is a very painful distemper, occasioning severe 

 ulceration, attended sometimes with the loss of the hoof: if remedies be 

 not speedily applied, the animal, in fact, soon loses the entire support of 

 the foot, and is obliged to crawl upon his knees in search of food ; by 

 which exertion, together with the pain, he is so exhausted that, if not re- 

 lieved, he will perhaps perish ; if not by the effects of the disease, by the 

 attacks of the flesh-fly, to which in sultry weather he will be peculiarly 

 exposed. It is not, however, in itself necessarily fatal : lean sheep seldom 

 take it ; and in severe cases, a natural cure is effected by the shedding and 

 removal of the hoof. 



The first indication of the disease is a slight halt, which in two or three 

 days increases to actual lameness ; the foot feels hotter than usual ; there 

 is an appearance of swelling about the heel, or between the toes, and the 

 hoof is in some degree loose. In attempting the cure, the animal should be 

 first removed either to a pen or an open shed, with some clean straw litter, 

 where he may be kept separate from the sound sheep, and the foot should 

 be well washed with soap and water. When all dirt has been removed, it 

 should then be minutely examined to ascertain the injured part, which, if 

 not apparent to the eye, will be found upon pressure by the hand. The 

 hoof must then be carefully pared away with a sharp knife, all round the 

 affected part, taking care at the same time not to cut any sensible portion 

 of the foot ; after which some of the ointments hereafter mentioned may 

 be laid on with a feather on every spot and into every crevice which may 

 be affected, and the sheep should be kept confined until the application 

 becomes dry ; but, as the complaint is inflammatory, bandages should not 

 be used. 



The foot should be attentively kept clean and washed with lime-water 

 previous to every future application, which may be repeated within two or 

 three days, and, if taken early, a few dressings will probably effect a cure. 

 Caustics have been generally employed, of which that known as " butter 

 of antimony" is perhaps the best ; but as three essays on the subject 

 have lately been presented to the Highland Society, each of which has 

 obtained premiums, we cannot justlf refuse the insertion of allf — they 

 are severally as follows : — 



The Ettrick Shepherd says, " that he has found the following composi- 

 tion to be the speediest, the most powerful, and by far the mildest : — 



" To make one gill : to two ounces of turpentine, put half an ounce of diluted vitriol ; 

 stir the residuum of the turpentine from the bottom before using." 



Mr. Laidlaw, of Bowerhope, in Selkirkshire, states — " that mild applica- 

 tions have not been found in general so effectual as active ones ; and that 

 the following has had considerable celebrity in the north of England and 

 this part"of Scotland : — 



" Corrosive sublimate, 1 oz. ; blue vitriol, 2 oz. ; verdigris, 2 oz. ; white copperas, 4 oz. ; 

 dissolve in half a bottle of white-wine vinegar, and apply it with a feather." 



Another medicine he also describes as having been found to answer, 

 consisting of — 



" Verdigris, 1 oz. ;' blue vitriol, 9 oz. ; spirit of turpentine, 1 gill ; distilled vinegar, 

 3 gills." 



And he has sometimes used a mixture of tar and common salt with great 

 success, especially in damp weather. 



* See the Survey of Devonshire, p. 341. 



f Trans, of the Soc. N. S., vol, iii. See also the *' Complete Grazier," 6th edit. 

 p. 343, aad the " Wouatain Shepherd's Manual," 



